Today we’d like to introduce you to Graham Caven.
Hi Graham, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Rita and myself Graham are from the UK and worked for Rio tinto in the aluminum industry in Wales,Australia,Canada and Scotland our journey towards buying a business and moving to Naples Florida started around 15 years ago when visiting beautiful Naples to see lifelong friends. At this time Rita and I were working for an Aluminum smelter in Australia and loved Naples so much we bought a condo. My wife was a business improvement manager and I was a training specialist. Around 8 years ago we decided to look for a business in Naples and had always wanted a cafe/coffee shop, the friends that we have in Naples found Sunburst Cafe which has been a Naples original for 26 years now and it was love at first sight. We applied for an E2 business visa and were successful and that was 7 years ago. We had no such business experience as my training was around the aluminum smelting process and Rita’s around the business improvements area of the aluminum smelter. We soon found out that the skills we have are easily transferable and that we love meeting new people and making our own mark at Sunburst. At first we thought that this would be so easy manage sunburst in the morning and beach time in the afternoon but soon found out that running a small business is a 24 hour a day thing (something always needs attention ) To top it off along came Covid, times where hard having just taken over our business we still had bills to pay and no help from anywhere as we where on an E2 investment visa so didn’t qualify. We learnt about our business very quickly! as we where thrown in the deep end and had to learn to swim very fast (UK saying ) I was used to smelting aluminum at 960 degrees and now I’m baking muffins at 350 degrees however I’m a quick learner. We both love sunburst and have amazing staff (we regards as family) we love interacting with customers from near and far and have made so many great friendships. We have branched off into catering and host a once monthly English Afternoon Tea which is very well supported. Who would have thought our life’s journey would have brought us to Sunburst Cafe in Naples Florida, we love what we do, we love where we live and long may it all continue
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Learning the business I suppose however in a way COVID helped us as we had to be more hands on than we had planned, financial challenges because of COVID
There are always challenges running a small business, staff, suppliers, equipment to name a few
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Rita and I Graham worked for Rio Tinto an Aluminum smelter, Rita was a business improvement manager and I was the potline trainer. We worked in Wales, 10 years in Australia, 3 years in Canada and 2 years in Scotland
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
It’s harder each year being a small mom and pop independent business. Lots of chains are now trying to take over, costs of goods, rent, bills and so on continue to rise. We love our small business and try our best to make it successful
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sunburstnaples.com
- Instagram: sunburst Naples
- Facebook: Sunburst Naples.com
